Lifeline Community Care at Toowoomba achieves a Queensland first

Lifeline Community Care’s Babala Residential at Toowoomba – a group home for young people with complex needs – is now Queensland’s first Indigenous residential service to be granted a Licence for a Care Service.

Child Safety Minister Margaret Keech today presented Lifeline Community Care with the licence to provide supervised accommodation at Babala Residential for young people aged 12 to 17 years.

Mrs Keech said the new licensing process was about ensuring services provided the high standard of care required for vulnerable children and young people.

“These new agreements allow us to make sure service providers know exactly what we expect of them when it comes to caring for at-risk children,” she said.

“The Bligh Government will continue to raise the bar when it comes to child protection and through licensing agreements like this one we can keep improving our services.

“I know that Babala Residential will maintain these high standards in providing a range of child protection services to the local Indigenous community ranging from culturally appropriate residential placements to ensuring children living away from their families can maintain their cultural ties.

“The Bligh Government’s new Toward Q2 strategy is about government working in partnership with local communities to provide the services most needed in those areas.

“It’s about creating more connected communities where people reach out to one another and lend a helping hand.

“That’s why we work closely with individual organisations as part of the licensing process – to ensure the services provided meet the unique needs of individual communities.”

Mrs Keech said Babala Residential received almost $500,000 a year to run a group home for abused young people in the Toowoomba area who were unable to live safely at home.

The funds were part of the record $586.6 million Child Safety Budget 2008-09, including $5,575,790 for five organisations to deliver child protection services in the Toowoomba area, she said

Toowoomba North MP Kerry Shine welcomed today’s announcement, saying it would ensure the region’s vulnerable children and young people would continue to receive the best possible services.

“In addition to having somewhere to live, these young people will also receive therapeutic support, intervention services and an after hours outreach program to help them to begin to rebuild their lives,” he said.

“Early intervention and preventative measures are vital. However, when Child Safety Officers have to step in and remove Indigenous children to protect them, it is very important that they can still maintain their cultural ties and kinship connections.

“It’s great to have a service like Babala that can provide this for children in this region.

“I’m pleased that they have been the first indigenous service in Queensland to take this important step and I congratulate them on their efforts.”

Mrs Keech said the Department expected to receive applications for approximately 200 licences from over 50 non-government organisations providing care services and this number is expected to increase as new services are established to meet the out-of-home care needs of children and young people.

ENDS

Media contact: Jo Crompton  3224 7081